View full sizeFord Ford announces $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou, China, doubling its passenger car capacity to 1.2 million vehicles. Marin Burela, president of Changan Ford Mazda Automotive (left), and Chen Cheng, director of Hangzhou Economic Development Area, sign the agreement this afternoon in the Zhejiang People's Hall. Joe Hinrichs, head of Ford's operations in Asia, was also in attendance (fifth from the left).

There’s a race from Detroit to China, and the prize is a piece of the world’s fastest-growing car market.

The Detroit Three are investing billions in China in an attempt to capture what is expected to be a 30-million-vehicle market by 2020.

“The Chinese market for several years was looked at skeptically,” Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for TrueCar.com told MLive.com. “But it’s proven over time that there is substantial growth in that market that’s going to be impossible to ignore for any major global manufacturer.

“All major manufacturers are now taking the Chinese market very seriously.”

About 18 million vehicles were sold in China last year, well above sales in the U.S. of nearly 13 million units.

The new assembly plant, which will initially add capacity of 250,000 units when it opens in 2015, is a joint venture with Changan Ford Mazda Automobile. Ford sold about 516,000 vehicles in China in 2011.

John Fleming, Ford executive vice president for Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, called the investment, which is expected to double production capacity in to 1.2 million passenger cars annually in China by 2015, an important step to the automaker’s goal of selling up to 8 million vehicles worldwide by 2015.

"This expansion in China is really the most rapid expansion that Ford Motor Company has embarked on in the last 50-years, so it's a tremendous opportunity for us and a great motivator to everybody," he said.

View full sizeGMDemand for Buick products in China rose 3.7 percent on an annual basis to a March record 57,082 units last month. The brand was led by the Excelle, whose sales jumped 25.4 percent to 24,134 units, and the Excelle XT and GT (pictured above), which had a collective sales increase of 22.7 percent to 14,064 units.

In an attempt to catch GM, as well as other automakers vying for Chinese market share, Ford plans to bring 15 new vehicles and 20 new powertrains to China by 2015.

Toprak said although Ford currently has about one-fifth of the sales of GM and other foreign automakers, such as Volkswagen, its brand is seen as the “cool brand” by the younger generation of car buyers in China.

“Amongst the up-and-comer class, Ford is also perceived to be the cool brand, which is something they can capitalize on,” he said. “Their brand awareness is not nearly as strong as other brands like GM’s Buick – interestingly Buick is one of the hottest brands in China.”

Since 1999, the Detroit-based automaker has sold more than 3 million Buick models in China. Last year, the company sold an average of one car or truck every 12 seconds as it started a five-year rollout of more than 60 new or upgraded models in China.

“GM is aggressive about its development in China,” GM China Group President Kevin Wale said in a statement in April 2011. “We are going to introduce more than 60 new and upgraded vehicles over the next five years and lead in automotive electrification. In addition, we will speed up the move toward sustainable urban transportation. We also expect to double our sales by 2015 to about 5 million units.”

GM’s domestic sales in China last month were up 10.7 percent from the same month in 2011 -- led by Buick. They were the second highest for any month in GM’s history in China. For the first three months as a whole, its domestic sales increased 8.7 percent, the best quarter since GM began doing business in China.

Expansion is expected to continue for GM, which is expected to open a $1.1 billion assembly plant with the Wuhan government of the Hubei Province in China in 2014.

View full sizeChryslerA Jeep Wrangler design concept will celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.

Chrysler Group LLC also is vying for market share in China. The Auburn Hills-based automaker – controlled by Fiat SpA – will premiere two Chrysler brand design concept vehicles at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in honor of the brand's return to the Chinese market.

The Beijing auto show, which starts next week, is of significant importance to automakers racing to obtain market share in China, according to Toprak.

“This year’s auto show in China is going to be the most significant one they’ve had in their history,” he said.

Chrysler is expected to debut a Chrysler 300 model designed for the Chinese market, as well as a Jeep Wrangler production concept.

According to the Detroit News, Ford is expected to introduce a full lineup of crossovers and sport utility vehicles next week in Beijing, and GM Cadillac brand will show its all-new XTS luxury sedan.